ACCOMPONG TOWN, St Elizabeth

Minister of State in the Ministry of Mining

and Telecommunications, Laurence Broderick, on Tuesday reiterated the government’s commitment to preserve the integrity of the Cockpit Country – home to a number of Maroons in St Elizabeth, Trelawny and Clarendon – by ensuring that no mining takes place in the area.

“I came here earlier and gave my position and the position of the government that there will be no mining in the Cockpit Country,” he told hundreds of Maroons and visitors at the 271st staging of the Accompong Town Maroon celebrations in St Elizabeth.

According to Broderick, the Maroons fought for the area with “blood sweat and tears,” – an 80-year battle raged with the British, the most powerful country in the world at the time – and deserved to have their legacy preserved. “If there was no Cudjoe, there would be no Marcus Garvey and no Usain Bolt,” he said to thunderous applause.

Meanwhile, head of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), Earl Patrick, said he would be meeting with the Accompong community within a few weeks to discuss avenues for improving the tourism product in the area which, despite the lobbying efforts of its Colonel, Sidney Peddie, lacks infrastructural development and is nearly inacessible via the deplorable roads, one of which offers access to only one-way traffic.

“The Jamaica Tourist Board and the Tourism Product Development Company which I represent are fervently behind community tourism,” said Patrick, who brought greetings on behalf of the Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, who was scheduled to deliver the keynote address but was unable to attend as he was said to be attending to urgent tourism matters in New York.

“We believe that this is the wave of the future,” he continued. “We really are proud to be part of this, we want to continue to be part of this and to give you the assurance that within the next few weeks we will meet perhaps with the community to see what additional support we can offer and of course to enhance what we are seeing.”

He said TPDCo would continue to support Accompong and many other communities and villages in Jamaica that offered community tourism. “Tourism in Jamaica cannot just be sand and sea, it’s got to be community, community involvement and I know that my company over the years has lended tremendous support to this community and will continue to do so.”

At present the Maroons offer tours in their community to schools, as well as local and overseas visitors.